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On a Quest for High-Quality Audio Storage? > Finding It Has Never Been EZ-ier

Words by Jone Devlin

April 2008

EZQuest's mission is simple. Develop and manufacture superb storage devices for the desktop computer market while providing the highest level of service. What isn't simple is how hard they have worked and continue to work to not only live up to this mission, but to continue to improve their products to fit ever-changing consumer needs.

Take, for instance, their Pro Audio FW800. Part of their newest line of hard drives, the FW800 includes a large 8MB buffer (16MB on Pro Audio Plus drives), fans that decrease noise levels while maintaining low temperatures and a variety of internal power supplies designed to maximize wall space (gotta love that). Best of all they're pre-formatted for OS X and come with a two-year warranty.

According to EZQuest President Ebrahim Zmehrir, "Our FireWire 800 hard drives are the only ones that have been qualified by Digidesign on their Pro Tools HD system. This is one reason the audio community has embraced our drives." He continued, "Because our drives have been so well accepted by this group, we decided to develop our Pro Audio line just for them."

The drives are designed to answer a very important need in the digital community. As more and more people move to digital storage, having a tool available that provides a high level of quality, safety, and the ability to quickly transfer large amounts of data is a must. EZQuest, with its background, experience, and cutting-edge continuing pursuit of excellence, is a leader, if not the leader, in the field.

But as anyone who uses digital storage regularly knows, transferring data is only half the battle when you're talking audio. EZQuest products are specially optimized for digital audio and video, and the FireWire 800 hard drives are pre-formatted for Macintosh systems, include a data transfer rate of 800MB/sec, and a rotational speed of 7200 RPM, so users don't have to spend a lot of time and energy waiting for their audio to be stored.

But the FireWire 800 isn't the only storage device offered by EZQuest. At this year's MacWorld and NAMM shows the company unveiled its Thunder line of Pro Audio/Video Storage solution products. These products can be used as standalone drives or in conjunction with the Studio Rack 8.

They also include a smart switch, which automatically turns the drive on / off when the drive is plugged in / unplugged and an EZport Firewire 400 front-access port (for quick connect / disconnect), and supporting Plug and Play setup. Even better, all of these devices are hot swappable.

Other smart products offered as part of the Thunder line are the MegLev ultra quiet Smart Fan and thermostat to regulate drive temperature, which also comes with a warning buzzer for overheating or fan failure.

Zmehrir described it this way, "We've worked to develop an ideal real-time editing and storage solution for audio/video professionals for the past two years. Thunder drives combine great performance with the huge storage capacity required for audio, video, digital imaging, photography and computer animation projects. In addition, Thunder drives have been thoroughly tested for compatibility with programs used by these professionals."

Another strong feature of the Pro Audio FW800 is that it is specifically designed for Apple products. As Zmehrir told MacDirectory, "We use a specific shipset. It is perfectly compatible with Apple computers and the design and physical look of it is similar to the Apple computer product line. We have been in business since 1994 and we've been catering to the Apple community since we started."

Worried that as a casual user you simply cannot afford all the technology that EZQuest offers? Fear not, EZQuest's products are designed to be affordable for both personal and professional users. Best of all, EZQuest is a one-stop shop, offering customers a variety of add-ons and other products guaranteed to maximize their audio storage needs. Their Web site also offers everything from troubleshooting to personal technical support.